


Innocently Cruel

by Haya_dono



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Angst, F/M, Incest deconstruction, No Incest, One-Sided Attraction, Partial spoilers for the C-S Xander supports, Slight canon deviation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-05-29 20:08:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6391534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haya_dono/pseuds/Haya_dono
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the fine art of loving from afar and suffering in silence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Innocently Cruel

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to a dear friend for beta-reading it even if it's not their fandom~ 
> 
> I sometimes write other things than shitty sword story fics. First I'll clear up some things:  
> 1.- The fic takes place during the Conquest path but there are some canon deviations, because honestly the story is a trainwreck.  
> 2.- I know that for many the appeal of these relationships is because "siblings" but I honestly can't wrap my head around it, so this is my way to make peace with the game and its badly written implementation. I apologize if you come here expecting hot siblings sinning.  
> 3.- Avatar's name is different from Kamui, and has red hair instead of game-white-ish.  
> 4.- This contains spoilers for the C-S Xander supports and vague ones for the Conquest main story.

Sometimes there are things that take one by surprise, without recollection of how they began or when they even took place. Things that suddenly take up on one’s mind as overwhelming as the sun’s merciless rays far on the other side of the kingdom. One cannot see them from the dark skies of Nohr, but they are an ontological reality, as how a fallen tree will always make a sound regardless of whether there are witnesses to this event. This truth, this reality, is to be denied, for one can only do so much and can only feel so much in the short span of a lifetime and in such a precarious position. And it is perhaps in the face of complete adversity, of knowing that these feelings are never to be voiced and never to be acknowledged that Prince Xander, rightful heir to the throne of the kingdom of Nohr, has chosen to hide in the depths of his heart.

 

* * *

 

There was a time when Xander thought of a family. There was hope in a future where all children could be together as siblings, where all of them regardless of their mother could find solace in the fact they were bonded by blood. However, the poison of betrayal, the blood on his own hands as he had to fend for himself to survive quickly drove those feelings away, as if he was living on the edge of a blade, close to the heart and his soul.

Xander has never liked killing, yet his blade had to be swung far too many times, and Siegfried would be drenched in the blood of someone for the sake of someone else, his own survival at another’s cost. If only these women had just tried to get along, to come up with some arrangement, he had thought maybe, just maybe there was hope of a family. But human greed is far too powerful and the future throne is too tempting to divert their eyes away from. He has stopped counting the number of mothers and innocent lives who had to be slain all because they wanted the child from their womb to be the future king. All because King Garon was weak to the charms of women and would never be able to part from them.

It is this pointless bloodshed that maybe has hardened his father’s heart, cold as the abyss of the sea, faded kindness which sometimes is almost akin to that of a distant dream. There are only four remaining children, the arrival of the youngest one, Elise, is perhaps a beacon of hope, or one of the dreadful remains of a legacy, as there are no longer any concubines and no other children to be used as stepping stones.

He is the oldest one, and he knows what he has to do. He loves his siblings the most and it is his duty to protect them from all harm.

 

* * *

 

One day everything changes.

It is not that he is unaware of Ai’s existence, her arrival being too vivid in his mind, coincidentally after a fateful meeting in Cheve, one Xander chooses to ignore or to forget. He is also not a stranger to the unusual request, figments of kindness or of the deluded dreams of a hopeful son, to treat her as their sibling. For all they’ve suffered, all they’ve seen, the word sibling is one of a tight bond, a double-edged sword because they don’t forget what happened and they don’t wish that same cruel fate to befall another person.

Prince Xander is aware they aren’t blood siblings, but in this moment, the four siblings of Nohr become her family. It is an embrace of protection, one of compassion, of understanding and perhaps of something else he doesn’t want to deal with.

 

* * *

 

A bond has to be nurtured and grown, watered by small acts of affection and visits, and he can’t easily visit her as often as he wishes, his duties and deeds as crown prince being too much and too horrid to share with someone so innocent. Or maybe he thinks and would rather believe she is innocent and untainted.

Soon the days become years and he has found a young woman in front of him, one who greets him as a sibling with the same familiarity an acquaintance greets someone else. Just because you call someone something doesn’t mean this title becomes a reality, and Prince Xander soon realizes that he never did enough even though his intentions were always true. Camilla is the pillar of affection, a warped up role of mother and big sister, and one of suffocating love. Leo is somewhat closer, there is a more genuine bond in between Ai and him, and the affection of Elise is the purest of them all.

He has to wonder if he is fostering this love because of guilt or genuine concern, or if it’s something he has to do because he is the dutiful elder brother, the one who shoulders in silence all the burdens. He sometimes looks at her face, and finds at times blurs of the faces of other children, sometimes too hard to see directly in the eye. He can feel the ghosts of his dead brethren haunting him only to find a curious expression and Xander can’t explain what he’s done or why he has to turn away.

 

* * *

 

Sometimes Xander wonders if he can expiate what he’s done, looking at the bloodied hands and the path paved by bodies he’s laid to rest. His sins are far too great and he carries the burden of thousands of souls. It is too much to bear sometimes, family is the only word that seems to make sense and he clutches to it like a figment of sanity. For the sake of his family and of Nohr, he will do what it’s asked of him.

He has now acknowledged that this familiarity, this fearful touch is all because he cannot forgive himself and this young unrelated sister is the amalgamation of all his siblings that no longer exist. He has vowed to keep her in this gilded cage, protected from the harsh truth and the cruelty of this world in hopes that if she can be happy, then the sacrifice was worth it, as if this future will put all the ill will to rest.

 However, he never foresaw that fateful encounter where he came across her in the middle of the night, eyes bright and full of unabashed honesty. The faint moonlight makes her face almost ethereal, dreamlike as she opens her lips.

“Is something the matter? You look as if something is burdening you.”

It isn’t her words, it is how she takes his hands, those stained filthy hands, in between hers and whispers, “If there’s anything I can do to ease your pain, please tell me.”

It is in that moment he feels his heart breaking, suddenly pierced by a bolt driven deeply into his soul. It is in that fraction of second he forgets about the world and looks at her eyes, her face, her bright long red hair and equally deep red eyes as it is the first time he’s seen this woman, one who reaches out to his soul.

And in this moment, prince Xander has the horrible realization he has fallen in love.

 

* * *

 

There are feelings he can’t exactly control, as his love is to be hidden from all the world. It warps his actions, he struggles because there is a line between brotherly love and passionate affection and he can’t show one but reviles the other. He has a hard time touching her hair, it is a filthy sensation but he has to keep up the façade. He unconsciously puts distance in between them, as if there wasn’t one already because of the time and his duties, how far he is constantly from the Fortress. But even so, he can’t forget and every interaction is like treading on ice that at one point might break, and he’ll fall into an abyss where he’ll drown.

It is this and the weight of his conscience that sometimes keep him awake in the middle of the night, making it impossible to find rest, solace or salvation. He swings his sword like a beast as if cutting the air will destroy these feelings and the burden on him. It’s a responsibility too strong and at many times he has questioned if he has what it takes, developing what he’s lacking because he has to have it. As the next in line, he can’t fail and has to go on, as the paragon of all that is demanded of him.

And there are days where sometimes this feeling intensifies and he can’t forget about it, wishing that the fatigue lulls him into slumber and he can go on the next day. Instead he goes to the courtyard and looks at the stars as if they hold the answer to what he has forgotten.

“X-Xander… I didn’t expect you to be here…”

He turns and for a moment feels like the gods are torturing him, when he can’t put his feelings in order and then she is in front of him. But then, they are merciless as the look of tears in her eyes is enough to stab him deeply. He can quickly tell, she was scolded and punished for something Garon found disagreeable, even if she behaves well and is quiet and obedient. And now, in front of him, she tries to wipe her eyes and put up a front, as if the tears were nothing but a trick of the moonlight.

“S-sorry, I didn’t think I’d find you there and you are busy. I’ll go back…”

But even if he tries to put a distance between them, he cannot. Before anything else is said, he holds her tightly against him, to which she freezes, and he reassures her in soft, kind words that everything will be alright. Even if he is unsure of the future, the last thing he wants is to see her cry, and his feelings can wait to be resolved, because he can’t stand to see her trying to endure the pain all by herself. Because there is no one who knows how cutting and painful loneliness is more than he does.

 

* * *

 

Her laugh is everywhere. It is an unmistakable sound that he follows, searches for in every corner, in his every step, more since she’s finally left the Fortress and is proving her worth to Father. She is somewhere in the castle, lavishing other men with her presence. Whether it’s Silas or Jakob, Gunther or even Leo, Xander can only imagine such interactions oppressing his chest.

This time, he sees her talking to Kaze, smiling widely as the ninja is either confused or stoically enduring her teasing.

Xander is aware of Kaze’s popularity. It is not a secret, his attractive looks and mysterious, kind demeanor endear him to the ladies. He doesn’t mind that the ninja has pledged allegiance to her and her cause, and he even thinks Kaze is a close, powerful ally, one to be kept as friend and not enemy. What he does mind is how she looks at him, another type of familiarity, a different smile, the same as talking to one she sees as a man, the signs of attention between them almost akin to a pair of lovers.

It wouldn’t be surprising that one day Kaze confesses his feelings to her, and she can easily accept them. And Xander wishes that for once he was the liege, the servant, the one who can be all day and all night by her side, to receive her favor and love. That he wasn’t driven away for days or even weeks, looking at the sky in hopes of seeing a ghostly image of her face, struggling to go on day by day all alone.

 

* * *

 

Sometimes Xander indulges himself in fantasies, vivid enough to make him lose sense of what is real and what is not. Her hair slips through his fingers, running across her short mane as she lies close to him. Soft lips press against his skin, she moves slowly to meet his face and trap him with a kiss able to make him surrender. He pulls her close, needing more of her and her touch, to drown in her scent and never let go, until his hand grasps at the air and he wakes up to the silent darkness of his lone room.

He covers his face with a shaky hand, trying to catch his breath. He’s torn in between madness and sanity, at times he wants to go back to the illusions he continues to cultivate even if they become sweet poison.

 

* * *

 

At times the temptation of her lips becomes too much, he wishes to take them in between his, to show these shameful forbidden feelings to her. She had long stopped being like a sister to him, but he cannot tell if the opposite is true and it is that one question he will never be able to ask. They are four words that cannot be uttered and thus he has to suffer in silence, even if his heart deeply desires to take her in between his arms and forget about the world.

It is not easy to live with that love hidden in the shadows, he is sure Camilla is aware of it, judging by how she looks at him with an inquisitive gaze when he’s done talking to Ai.

“Hmmm,” she says with eyes glinting befitting those of a hunter about to catch its prey. “You seem to be fond of that nickname you gave to our sweet, precious sister.”

“Do you think so? I was unaware I have been using this term as often as you say.”

“It is an unusual way to refer to her, though.”

“On the contrary,” Xander replies and he is ready to continue, to trample over his feelings as he speaks. “Ai is our…” But the words choke in his throat, as if akin to poison because he has to say, to admit that they are siblings. Two words, horrible and vile, corrosive to his heart and soul. They are declarations of awful truth, one which spells out that he can never be with her, because they are bound by something that he cannot fight and cannot destroy, this familiarity he had fostered since the beginning and which now unwittingly strangles him slowly.

“…little sister.”

The fatality of those words resounds in his ears as he feels he has shot himself in the heart. It is a declaration of surrender, of something he cannot change. Even if he has changed his views about her, to the world, they are siblings, adopted or not. He cannot avoid that surge of jealousy at Kaze, Silas, and Jakob, free to love and be loved in return because as different as the social class stands, there is hope for them, hope to marry and love her passionately, while Xander can only watch from afar and burn his feelings to ashes. However, he knows he won’t and he will keep this love in his sealed lips, even if at the end of the road, it corrupts his soul.

 

* * *

 

“Little princess,” Xander greets Ai, with every ounce of love and the intensity of the sun lavishing upon every letter, every syllable of that nickname. It is meant to be affectionate, not the outlet of his deepest emotions, but it is the only way to let out that which he feels and struggles hard to keep inside. It is a meager leeway, a pathetic solution but one he has to take, for if not, he doesn’t know how he can keep himself sane. It takes all of his strength to not do anything unwise, to not reveal his heart, words far more selectively chosen, weaving affection with mad hopeless love, only to find her smiling at him.

He wishes this smile is only directed at him, that no one else is given this special look, only for him alone. He knows it to be madness but at times, he enjoys torturing himself seeing what doesn’t exist in the common banalities, because indulging in his delusion at times is rewarding, even if later he suffers deeply because of his love.

That smile is brighter than any of the stars in Nohr and warms his soul more than the sunbeams in Hoshido. However, there is something he notices as well, as he has memorized every inch of her face, of her person and finds short curly strands of hair framing her face instead of going down to her hips and waist.

“Little princess…” he says softly, his hand hesitates for a moment, undecided if it is perfectly normal for him to touch her hair, having cast aside the mannerisms of a sibling. He can barely feel its softness. “You cut your hair...”

Ai giggles, Xander pulls back, the lingering sensation on his fingertips like that of a yearning lover. “Haha, you noticed! I almost thought… Well, maybe you’d not… I mean…”

“I refuse to believe it would go unnoticed by any man in this world.” And of course it wouldn’t, for her long hair had been brilliant, bewitching as the passion it inspires.

She beams at his words, playing with her fingers as she treads along with her questioning. “Really? H-how… do you find it…?”

Xander clears his throat, words carefully being chosen. There is something poisonous and painful about the restraint of his true feelings, at how he wishes to lavish her with compliments but can only portray scraps of them. “It suits you well, little princess.”

For a moment he thinks her smile becomes shy. And now that he thinks about it, he wonders if there is a particular reason to do this. “Were you perhaps expecting someone to notice your change of appearance?”

She avoids his eyes and a faint blush tints her cheeks. “Ah, well, about…” Her voice fades away but it is clear as the sky, and the reason is obvious to him.

Xander smiles at her on the outside, even though he feels his heart pierced by ice, as he knows that is the shyness of a maiden in love, of one wanting to be seen as a woman by the man who has captured her heart. But there is little he can do about it, he can’t just destroy the innocence in those eyes, even if it is painful and cruel, so blissfully ignorant that it can bring Xander down to his knees and destroy him inside. Instead, he sighs, more to contain himself but perhaps sounding like an understanding older brother as he ruffles her hair, the last time for self-indulgence. “In that case, I hope this mysterious person has been entranced by your bold decision.”

“I-I think he noticed… I’m really happy.”

She is unaware of how her smile is too precious to him, and how deep his jealousy is for this man, whoever he is, that has been blessed with it because Xander will never be.

 

* * *

 

Sometimes he has to pretend he has no feelings and that he is willing to cut down those who oppose the King of Nohr. There is another faint hope, one that King Garon will go back to what he once was, that after this pointless conquest and bloodshed he’ll realize what he’s done and go on to expiate his sins. Xander clings onto that bond, loosely tied to his heart, because at times it is hard to think he is the father he once knew. But when Xander looks him in the eye, the memories flow back and he has to go back to the path he believes in.

Ai speaks of peace and justice, but Xander knows they are figments outside of reality, that the world cannot be ruled by illusions. He, who has carved his life with the blood of another, knows there are things one has to choose to keep oneself sane, even if that one thing, that one love, is unattainable as well. His hands are too stained to fight for the holy and the pure, but he will cut down all of their foes so that hers never get blood on them. In a way, that is the purest proof of his love to her, with the dread that since he decided to keep her safe, at one point she and King Garon will oppose each other.

But even so, this hesitation, this dread he sometimes feels will be heard and seen by no one.

The path of the king is one of loneliness and Xander has learned he has to make many sacrifices to keep those he loves safe, even those faint moments where he can confide in another. Instead, he’ll swallow his pain and endure his sorrow and despair. He is the rock of the family, the demonic son of King Garon, one devoid of feelings as he cuts through the Hoshido ranks and aims for the leader.

 

* * *

 

He is surprised to see her, tilting her head as she curiously walks to the training grounds where he’s spent so much time already. He barely notices the time as he swings his blade, and it is only when she suggests for him to rest that he realizes it is already dark and almost time for everyone to be asleep.

She laughs when he explains his duty, “Even after all these years, you’re still the same Xander.”

But Xander doesn’t know how to react, what to reply to the words of the faithful sister, one who recalls moments of sibling bonds, of how Xander would keep her company until she fell asleep and then go to train, which was something that was only a secret to him.

“You knew about that? But how?”

“Ah…” She gives him a shy, awkward smile, one of having to confess of a small misdemeanor. “I sometimes pretended to be asleep and would watch you from afar… I tried to imitate how you swung your sword. I thought if I could be as strong as you, I could fight by your side…”

This is somehow news to him, because Xander prided in being aware of what his siblings and Ai were up to, never missing a detail.

“I never told you about it because I thought you’d train elsewhere if I did.” She stops for a moment as if to think carefully of what she’ll do. “I was thinking…” She presses her fingers against each other, avoiding his gaze. “C-could we train together…? I-I know you are busy and…”

This is a nostalgia that hits him deep in the heart, one he can’t just brush aside. Training like siblings though he can never go back. Her plea is one of innocence and affection, and he can’t refuse. On the contrary, even if it is wrong, he has barely had time to be with her and part of him has resigned to enjoy as much time as he can, under the disguise of the dutiful elder sibling. He has resolved to dispel her loneliness even though his will eventually crush him, without anyone to understand the depth of what he keeps inside.

 

* * *

 

He knows he’s joined her to protect her from the world, and he has repeated this over and over, but he cannot help but wonder at how her kindness is that which can reach out to others. He had thought that it was foolish to spare a pirate and former ninja, and that Xander would soon be cleaning the blood on Siegfried’s blade. But here the former outlaw is, having sworn loyalty to her, following her advice and even talking to others who, like him, have been saved by her words.

Xander has long known the path of violence and death, and knows there is little hope for the future, but she can reach the hearts of many and can get people to trust and believe. And it gives him some glimmer of hope that maybe they can solve this conflict without as much bloodshed and pain as what he originally thought.

He worries her innocence might be her downfall and that some person will take her life in the future, so it is why he has to protect her from the world, while secretly hoping he doesn’t have to, that her words and heart are stronger than the stains of blood.

 

* * *

 

There is something in that teasing chiding laugh of hers that sends shivers down Xander’s spine. It’s how she struggles to not smile and how she sees him again training, almost as if she went there knowing he would be there as well. It is that speck of hope that gives full reign to Xander’s wild delusions, sometimes so strong he struggles to keep them in check, to give birth to fantasies. They no longer are about spending one night with her, but to embrace her as his wife, and to cherish her every day and every night. Fantasies that do naught but feed the despair inside, yet too precious to cast aside.

Her smile fades as she stares at him, sometimes her gaze is too strong and she doesn’t know the power she holds. It is true he is deep in thought, deep in between the concern of having been a bother and that hidden futile hope, intoxicating and poisonous, that he and not anyone else has captured her thoughts.

“Exactly how much sleep did I cause you to lose because of my training? Thinking back, I recall how hard it was to get you up in the morning. Am I to blame?”

She laughs brightly and Xander doesn’t know if to feel relief or despair at her answer and how it seems like she just felt protected by the elder sibling façade.  And he has to remind himself of this fact and keep going as far as he can.

“Um, Xander?” But it is hard with how enrapturing his name sounds coming from her lips. “Is something else on your mind? You look troubled.”

He has to look at her for a second, somehow brought back to that fateful day years ago.

“You’re swinging your sword so fiercely today, with a wild look in your eyes. It’s the same look you always had on nights when you and Father would argue,” she says and her face looks exactly the same as back then, one that soothes away all of his worries and makes him feel that for once he’s not alone, that the thoughts he has kept in his heart have somehow been read. Even if he can’t tell all, there is a warm solace in her words and he feels that even just admitting he has no regrets, his burden has become less suffocating.

The look she gives him is one he can’t decipher, once more he doesn’t know her as much as he thinks he does. “Oh, so that’s it. Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have asked. It’s just so nice to hear what’s on your mind instead of wondering from afar.”

He can only thank her in silence for her concern as he watches her back when they go back to the castle.

 

* * *

 

He believed in enduring his pain by himself, but the lonely stoic resolve wavers again when she takes his hands in between his, and looks at him with concern in her eyes.

“I mean it with all my heart. If there is something I can do…”

Xander closes his eyes for one moment, the fleeting touch, the closeness to her, almost like his dreams. He feels strange, there is the way she looks at him, almost as she sees his innermost thoughts clearly as the day, like back then and now. He feels unworthy of this kindness but he can’t let go of it either.

“You were right about me taking out my anger at Father during my training. Sometimes begin crown prince means following the king’s orders no matter what. But there were times when I felt his commands crossed a line. Sometimes it didn’t feel like he was trying to benefit the kingdom at all, just himself. Having to do things I didn’t believe in weighed heavily on my heart. Now I’m wise enough and brave to stand up to Father. But back then… Those were the nights you spoke of, when I swung my blade like a wild beast.”

Her hands clutch his tightly, in another lifetime perhaps he could dream they are lovers.

“I never thought I’d tell you that. Thank you for listening, Ai. Both to my blade back then and my words now.” Because unburdening himself to her is the most liberating experience, one that is almost capable of making Xander forgive himself. Because she’s done what no one else can, even if she dismisses it as just listening and prying. She’s given him hope and a reason to live for.

“You did more than you know,” he says with truth in every syllable and word. “It’s thanks to you that I don’t feel alone anymore.”

She smiles to the point of eyes brimming with tears, one capable of saving a soul. “Xander…” She pulls his hand close to her chest, as dear as if it’s a lover’s embrace though he quickly dispels those thoughts. “It means the world to me to hear you say that. You saved me from my own loneliness when I was a child, locked away from the world… I’m so happy to finally repay the favor. It was always my dearest wish to do so. If you ever feel like talking, about anything, I’m always here for you.”

He traps himself with delusions as he pretends those are the whispers of a lover. “I don’t wish for you to lose sleep over my troubles…”

“I’ve been losing sleep over you for years now,” she says with a radiant smile and a beaming face. “It’s my favorite tradition.”

 

* * *

 

Sometimes Xander wakes up from a dream and faces the brutality of reality, crushing and harsh as the dark sky of Nohr. He is aware of his feelings, of his fate as future king, Ai having asked him in the past that he was bound to marry one day. Xander knows he will have to, one day he will have a spouse and his feelings will linger, his love will be carried by the wind, looking for the woman he loves from afar. He will have to procure for his wife, and respect her, but deep in his heart he knows there is only one person he can truly love.

However, he knows there is nothing to be done, nothing which can erase these chains of bonds and so he wakes up one day with a resolution, one to ask and to hear that maybe in this world, in this lifetime they will not be bound, but to live with the hope that in another future, maybe he and his beloved Ai will be able to be together.

If anything, he’ll seek solace in this hope and live with it until tomorrow.

 

* * *

 

Her knock is almost hesitating, understandable as it is the first time she’s visited his room.

“Is everything OK? Your note said it was urgent…”

“…I need to ask you something,” Xander replies and his voice is strong and filled with something he can’t really discern, whether acceptance or resignation, they all have blurred in the past, intertwined with a glimmer of hope.  “What do you think of me?”

“Huh? I-I’m not sure what you mean…”

The look of confusion in her eyes is unmistakable, but he can’t go back. “I know this is out of the blue, but I need to know. Please, answer truthfully.”

She blinks twice and avoids his eyes, cheeks becoming redder like her hair and eyes, voice trembling and hesitant. “I-if it means that much to you…” There is a pause which lasts eons, one where she needs to take a deep breath, as if there is something to be confessed. “You are someone I admire… Someone strong, and wise, and noble. You’re the rock of the family, someone we can all depend on and look up to… You taught me so many things, about courage, and about the sword, about fighting for what was right. But… I…”

Xander smiles to himself bitterly, maybe in a new world, in the Nohr of the future, they can meet once more.

“But I… I could never… I could never look at you and see a brother.” Ai shuts her eyes, her words deadly quiet as time seems to freeze. Xander can’t even move nor breathe, chest feeling as if pressed tightly, heart about to burst. “I know you couldn’t visit as often as you wanted and it always made me guilty that you treated me like a little sister and I couldn’t feel anything like that in return… I could see the others as my brethren but not you… And then, one day you held me while I was crying, even though you seemed so beaten down. But you set aside your feelings and tried to cheer me up. And when you let go…” By now she’s covering her face, trying to hide the tears that roll down her cheeks. “I realized I never wanted to leave your side…”

“Little princess…”

“I was secretly happy you called me like that and not ‘little sister’. If I heard it from you, I’d feel worse…” She tries to look at him, but Xander’s emotions prevent his face from showing anything other than shock and she turns away. “I’m so sorry, I’m an awful person for feeling like this! And when you asked me for the truth, I just couldn’t, but I’ve said too much!”

It is in that moment that Xander closes the gap between them, a hand reaching out to her hair. “Ai, you… the time you cut your hair…”

She looks up but tears keep flowing. “I thought that if I cut my hair, that if I was stronger, you’d look at me as a woman and not a sister to protect. I’m such an awful person for hoping that you wouldn’t see me as a sister… That I could change everything but…”

Xander cups her face gently and leans down, mere inches apart from her. “If only I had gathered the courage to ask you about this sooner… It would have been enough to spare you from feeling like this…” Before she can say a word, he presses his lips against hers, feeling how she paralyzes for a moment at his touch and then clings to him desperately, refusing to let go. His name is muffled in between their lips, smacking each other as if there’s no end, until they are so raw and they have to part away to even breathe. Xander is so tall that she barely reaches his shoulders, and he embraces her like he always did in his dreams and delusions. She buries her face in his chest, fingers clawing at his clothes, repeating over and over those words he never thought he would hear from her.

“Please say you’ll stay by my side, now and forever, as my wife and the woman whom I adore,” he whispers to her ear, voice finally lavished with all the affection of the world, all of his feelings poured without restraint, deep as the ocean and vast as the sky.

“Of course I will! So many days I wished for this to happen and I can’t believe my dream came true.”

His hands hold her tightly and he will never let go. All those nights of sorrow and despair seem like a thing from a faraway dream and for once reality has never been clearer and never more welcomed.

“I love you, truly. I’ve been meaning to tell you for so long… You are my precious wife now. It is my honor and duty to keep you safe, at all costs.”

It is finally in this moment, that Prince Xander of Nohr is no longer alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this, I hope it was enjoyable.
> 
> As for final remarks:  
> I noticed that the transition from the default hairstyle to the short curly one is almost the same, so I thought that cutting the hair was a nifty idea.


End file.
